thanks man!! this recipe is just fabulous. it was equivalent or better than the the frozen girdanos i had shipped. i dont think they ship sausage....so to me it was better! thanks again gang for the great recipes!

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"My Doctor says I swallow a lot of aggression. Along with a lot of pizzas!!"

I just ate my first self baked stuffed crust and it was great. Well, almost. I put too much salt in sauce because i probably didn't mix it enough before tasting but anyway the pizza tasted great. Unfortunately i can't tell how close it was to Giordanos because the one and only time i've been there is over a year ago but i'll test it on my sister when she gets back from chicago.

I mixed all the dry ingredients with the oil, then added the water and roughly hand kneaded it for 3 minutes until all the flour was absorbed. I cut of 1/3 for the top crust and let it rest for 1 1/2 hours at room temperatur and then moved it in the fridge for 4 hours and then removed it and baked it after 1 1/2 hours.

I used a generic spring form to bake it in and preheated my stone to 230°C for 45 minutes.For the toppings i went with what giordanos calls tropical delight. I wasn't sure about the bacon and because i like it a little crispy i threw it into a hot pan before using it on the pizza. For the cheese i used grated mozzarella.

The sauce was, as stated before, too salty. I used two 14oz cans of tomatoes and drained them quite a while, blended in 2 cloves of garlic and a little dried oregano, a little sugar and too much salt.

First, I need to say that while the aim here seems to be to emulate a "Giordano's stuffed pizza" (a dubious undertaking as I doubt its chain of stores faithfully makes anything consistent with what is served at, say, the Hyde Park store -- though I recall its dough was good), I offer thoughts cooking these pizzas for 20 plus years, just for me. That said....

On the dough: I NEVER let mine rise.

On the sauce: I agree, stuffed calls for more watery than thin, but I do reduce mine. I disagree that not cooking it is the thing to do. I'm saying thin it a bit, but not to the consistency of sauce for think crust (though mine works well in both).

Last: I'm gratified to see that it looks like no one has copied what I do for sauce, as it has taken me literally decades of trial and error to get it. It's a personal thing, and it has taken decades to perfect, so it's secret, but many over the years have remarked that it's the best they ever had. Clue: sauce is good by itself, though it shines most when on pizza. It is a piece of a great pizza, not stand-alone. And despite all this talk of dry --use fresh herbs. Canned tomatoes (the right kind,at least) is fine, but the taste difference between dry and fresh herbs is remarkable. Trust me.

I doubt its chain of stores faithfully makes anything consistent with what is served at, say, the Hyde Park store . . .

I've been eating Giordano's pizza from way back when they first started in their little restaurant on California Ave. on the SW side of Chicago. They've grown alot and in my experience are one of the few chains that makes a consistent tasting pizza among all their many stores and restaurants, from Illinois to Florida.

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On the dough: I NEVER let mine rise.

Giordano's let's their's rise. But if you prefer it otherwise, that's fine.

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On the sauce . . . stuffed calls for more watery than thin . . .

Giordano's sauce is definitely not a thin watery sauce. While not as chunky as say a Lou Malnati's pizza, it definitely has a nice chunky and crushed tomato consistency, which is the way I like it (and I always order "extra" tomato sauce).

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Last: I'm gratified to see that it looks like no one has copied what I do for sauce, as it has taken me literally decades of trial and error to get it. It's a personal thing, and it has taken decades to perfect, so it's secret . . .

One of the great things about this website is that we SHARE our successes and failures, recipes and information with others to enable each other to make the best pizzas ever. I hope you intend to do likewise.

Here's some pictures of Giordano's stuffed pizza with it's more chunky and crushed tomato sauce consumed at their Tampa, FL restaurant earlier this year. --BTB

One of the great things about this website is that we SHARE our successes and failures, recipes and information with others to enable each other to make the best pizzas ever. I hope you intend to do likewise.

I couldn't agree more. Because of the great people on this forum sharing their successes, failures, recipes, formulas, etc, my pizzas went from mediocre at best to a product that I am extremely proud of. The first photo is from a pie I made less than a year ago & the following pie is typical of my current pizza. Thanks to you all & let's keep sharing our knowledge!

Aldo, and I can't believe that I'm actually responding to this, you are a troll.

I make better pizza than you and I'm not going to tell you how I do it. Now fight!

You've said what you wanted to say, NOW GO AWAY! We help each other in this forum and even when differing viewpoints create heated discussions/arguments, knowledge is shared. You've brought nothing! One post like that in a forum like this one should have you banned.

First, I need to say that while the aim here seems to be to emulate a "Giordano's stuffed pizza" (a dubious undertaking as I doubt its chain of stores faithfully makes anything consistent with what is served at, say, the Hyde Park store -- though I recall its dough was good), I offer thoughts cooking these pizzas for 20 plus years, just for me. That said....

On the dough: I NEVER let mine rise.

On the sauce: I agree, stuffed calls for more watery than thin, but I do reduce mine. I disagree that not cooking it is the thing to do. I'm saying thin it a bit, but not to the consistency of sauce for think crust (though mine works well in both).

Last: I'm gratified to see that it looks like no one has copied what I do for sauce, as it has taken me literally decades of trial and error to get it. It's a personal thing, and it has taken decades to perfect, so it's secret, but many over the years have remarked that it's the best they ever had. Clue: sauce is good by itself, though it shines most when on pizza. It is a piece of a great pizza, not stand-alone. And despite all this talk of dry --use fresh herbs. Canned tomatoes (the right kind,at least) is fine, but the taste difference between dry and fresh herbs is remarkable. Trust me.

Thanks!

Heee!! youre funny! but for your own info, around here there's really no ego issues as you are displaying. besides if its really so good, you really dont need to tell anyone about it, people should be speaking for you. not to mention, becuase of your zen like state in pizza making you should really be a more nurturing force, but hey feel free to post some pics of your pies!! be careful tho, the folks around here will probably be able to see how you do it, and what you use. there are some of the best pizza makers here, as well as some real geniuses, and theyre real observant! and picky! lets see that super sauce thats sooo unique!! thanks for the laugh!!!

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"My Doctor says I swallow a lot of aggression. Along with a lot of pizzas!!"

Jeez -- you people are a tough crowd! No, you can't get rid of me with names, and I've shared what I will. I do apologize, but here's a picture of a piece of pizza I baked. Keep up the good work, you guys, you're right to fight "trolls" -- I saw a guy post something like "hlep, I need to get a grea recipe, I'm opening a pizza place in a week" or something like that. No, that's "troll." I do very much appreciate your candor. You are clearly a crowd I respect, and hopfully in time I'll earn yours. Mangia!

here's last fridays attempt! my pan is the worst, its like 14 inch with a 2 inch lip. so i made a big big pie. with a high back crust! used like 15% smolina, was delicious. i have a long way to go, but it was very good. leftovers were equally awesome.

Hey, Mr. Mojo 1, I notice you're using an aluminum pan. If you're interested in the steel deal, there's a store in Chicago called Krasny & Co. where I picked up my pans. I've used both and prefer steel. I don't know if you've tried steel, but I find that a half hour at 450 for a 14 inch stuffed yields a good, light to golden brown crust. They're not as tall an edge as the ones you're using, but maybe you prefer yours. Well, if you're interested, you can Google "Krasney & Co." and there's a Yelp link and other entries with their contact info. Tell 'em you want steel stuffed pizza pans, and I bet they'll ship.

Good looking pizza, Mr. Mojo. I sense it could have been cooked a tad more, but maybe that's the shiny pan. At 450 degrees F and on a lower shelf, I would think about 45 minutes time would be right, but you'll need to watch it carefully. For such a large stuffed, maybe even lower the temperature to 425 or 435. My 9" deep dish pizza normally takes almost a half hour at 450 to 475. I always order the stuffed pizza with extra sauce on top, too, so I'd like the amount of sauce you put on.

Bed, Bath & Beyond stores, which I think are everywhere, has some great darker 9" and 14" pans (think they're good Chicago Metallic) that you can easily run out and get. The shiny pan you used does not help with coloring, but it still looked very good. My favorite, however, is getting nonperforated pans with PSTK from Pizzatools.com.

Excellent advice guys!! thank you very much. i do want a new pan, that aluminum pan is really crappy! yeah, i have to put foil on top part way through becuase the crust is browning on top too fast, compared to the rest. i totally agree it could have used some more time!! and i should lower the rack more.....good points!! thanks gang. I will look into those pan recommendations and i plan on making a purchase. i will let you knwo what i get. thanks again!!!

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"My Doctor says I swallow a lot of aggression. Along with a lot of pizzas!!"

I made pizza this past weekend as well. I made the dough a couple hours before. I've been wondering what SPECIFIC advantages I get by doing a cold fermentation with ADY or IDY.

My recipe is a modified one that came from buzz I believe. I made it bigger and have made small adjustments for my personal tastes.

One problem I continually run into is having enough dough to work with. I suppose this can be easily fixed by adding more flour, haha? I have used about 13% oil but recently have been experimenting to see how I like more oil in the dough.

Loved this thread so much (google is your friend) that I had to register and post.

Thanks for the insights. Thought I'd toss an item or two out there for discussion:

1. Salt and Sugar have to be listed as separate ingredients because they impact nutrition. Things like garlic powder or onion powder do not, so they can be listed as generic "spices". I add a bit of garlic powder to my doughs to help mask the yeast flavor and add some depth.2. Lots of attention to weight ratios. I am wondering about type of flour. Couldn't a variety of flours create a variety of tastes? Seems logical. Semonlina? Unbleached? Etc. Maybe that's covered early, and everyone is dedicated to KA AP, or similar.3. The crusts from Giordano's have a richer hue than some of the clone attempts. Indicates its cooked differently, or has different ingredients. My gut instinct tells me that Giordano's has a better oven, where the temperatures are more consistent and capable of hotter temps. I've seen recipes calling for 500 degrees for 50 minutes for clone pizzas. 4. The richer hue could be a coating of butter or "not extra virgin" olive oil that is spread on the pan before cooking. Would a pan coating have to be included in the recipe? Probably not, even if it would add calories, etc., if used as an ingredient. The only caveat there is "food allergies" and what would have to be listed by Giordanos.5. I think pan thickness/alloy contributes to the hue/texture of the dough. Might be totally wrong. What about pre-heating the pan? Or, keeping it cool so the dough doesn't begin baking until the entire pizza cooks?

Thoughts from the vets?

Thanks for the words here. I am also impressed by how friendly and cordial everyone is. Looks like a nice place to explore for other pizza interests.

Since this pizza is supposed to be cooked on the middle rack using a pizza stone I was wondering if there would be any effect caused by having another pizza cooking on the bottom rack. I am planning on cooking two thin crust pies on the bottom rack and a Giordano's clone on the middle rack. Should the thin crust pizzas effect the way the Giordano's one cooks since it is on a stone? I really don't care how the NY pies come out but it is important that the Giordano's turns out well. I am also wondering if anyone could shed any light on the effects of a second stone on the bottom rack.

Loved this thread so much (google is your friend) that I had to register and post.

Thanks for the insights. Thought I'd toss an item or two out there for discussion:

1. Salt and Sugar have to be listed as separate ingredients because they impact nutrition. Things like garlic powder or onion powder do not, so they can be listed as generic "spices". I add a bit of garlic powder to my doughs to help mask the yeast flavor and add some depth.2. Lots of attention to weight ratios. I am wondering about type of flour. Couldn't a variety of flours create a variety of tastes? Seems logical. Semonlina? Unbleached? Etc. Maybe that's covered early, and everyone is dedicated to KA AP, or similar.3. The crusts from Giordano's have a richer hue than some of the clone attempts. Indicates its cooked differently, or has different ingredients. My gut instinct tells me that Giordano's has a better oven, where the temperatures are more consistent and capable of hotter temps. I've seen recipes calling for 500 degrees for 50 minutes for clone pizzas. 4. The richer hue could be a coating of butter or "not extra virgin" olive oil that is spread on the pan before cooking. Would a pan coating have to be included in the recipe? Probably not, even if it would add calories, etc., if used as an ingredient. The only caveat there is "food allergies" and what would have to be listed by Giordanos.5. I think pan thickness/alloy contributes to the hue/texture of the dough. Might be totally wrong. What about pre-heating the pan? Or, keeping it cool so the dough doesn't begin baking until the entire pizza cooks?

Thoughts from the vets?

Thanks for the words here. I am also impressed by how friendly and cordial everyone is. Looks like a nice place to explore for other pizza interests.

Oklahawg, welcome to the site. Any Oklahoma connection? You'll find many good tips, thoughts and advice here. Salt also impacts taste for me. I used to make dough without it, but found that the crusts were much more tastier with salt in it. I like the idea of adding a little garlic or onion powder into the crust ingredients. Semolina, corn, rice and other flours have been added in some recipes and is reported on in other postings. We all have our different favorites for white flour. Mine is KA for AP and GM's Better for Bread for various uses. But there are many other good ones out there and discussed in many posts.

Regarding Giordano's methods, I think you can learn a lot from my pictures and comments in the report on them in the Pizzeria and Restaurant review section at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,8361.msg72200.html#msg72200 . You can see their oven, pans, etc. For instance, they spread unsalted butter in the pan before putting the dough in. And they told me that their ovens were around 450 degrees F. Good luck and please share your successes and thoughts with us.

Dicepackage, many bake multiple pizzas in different ways. When I have a deep dish and a thin crust to make for friends and family at one setting, I first put in the deep dish first on the bottom rack, Then 10 to 20 minutes later, depending on size of the deep dish pizza, I move it to the lower middle rack and put the thin crust (on a cutter pan) on the bottom or next to the bottom rack level. I don't use a pizza stone anymore, but many do. You'll have to go through some trial and error to see what's best for you. Hopefully others will have some thoughts for you on the pizza stone question. --BTB